Today we’re talking about networks and why they’re an important part of your personal leadership strategy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an extrovert, introvert or ambivert. If you pride yourself in knowing a lot of people or you’d rather be able to count your network on one hand. Because there’s actually a lot more to take into consideration about who you surround yourself with as a leader.

In this episode we’re exploring why your network needs to shift and change as you evolve and how curating yours can be the difference in the impact you make as a leader. 

We cover:

• The difference between networks and networking
• Why your networks are important
• The different types of networks at play
• How to recognise who is in your network
• Curating and editing your network
• Reflecting on the role you play in networks

Resources and helpful links

About leaders with impact

Want to know the secret of great leaders? In Leaders with impact we'll be exploring what makes an impactful leader; sharing stories of success and strategies that set them apart.

If you are ambitious for your organisation but are struggling to identify what you can do differently as a leader to deliver the right improvements, then hit subscribe to learn how you can get clear on your strategy, implement some self-leadership and connect with those you serve.

New episodes are released every fortnight.

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Lee Griffith: 00:00:02

Today I want to talk about networks and why

Lee Griffith: 00:00:04

they're an important part of your personal leadership

Lee Griffith: 00:00:06

strategy. Now, it doesn't matter whether you're an extrovert,

Lee Griffith: 00:00:10

introvert ambivert, if you pride yourself in knowing a lot of

Lee Griffith: 00:00:14

people or you'd rather be able to count the network on one

Lee Griffith: 00:00:16

hand, because actually there's a lot more to take into

Lee Griffith: 00:00:19

consideration about who you surround yourself with as a

Lee Griffith: 00:00:22

leader. I'm Lee Griffith, a communication strategist,

Lee Griffith: 00:00:25

executive coach, and all around champion of leaders who shun the

Lee Griffith: 00:00:28

old school stereotypes. I'm here to help you get clear on your

Lee Griffith: 00:00:31

strategy, implement some self leadership and connect with

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those who serve through your communications so that you can

Lee Griffith: 00:00:37

deliver it improve organizational performance,

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engagement and reputation. Sign up to my newsletters to receive

Lee Griffith: 00:00:42

even more useful insights into how to be an impactful leader.

Lee Griffith: 00:00:45

You can also find out how I can support your organization to

Lee Griffith: 00:00:48

better connect with the people it serves. Visit Sundayskies.com

Lee Griffith: 00:00:51

To find out more. In this episode, I'm exploring why your

Lee Griffith: 00:00:55

network needs to shift and change as you evolve, and how

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curating yours compute the difference in the impact you

Lee Griffith: 00:01:00

make as a leader. In this episode, I'm exploring why your

Lee Griffith: 00:01:04

network needs to shift and change as you evolve, and how

Lee Griffith: 00:01:06

curating yours can be the difference in the impact you

Lee Griffith: 00:01:09

make as a leader.

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I'm recording this episode after spending a couple of days away

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in Margate with my collaborator in crime carrier and yes, I was

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singing jazz and Dave, if you know me, you'll know my decision

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to go down to Margate was heavily influenced by them. Yes,

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I did drag Karianne to the arcades, although to be honest,

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most were closed and I was very disappointed at the lack of the

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five p 10. P fruit machines. I do think there's probably like a

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niche business that maybe I'll set up in a few years time just

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to recreate that experience of my childhood because I love a

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free tea but not the old mucho money ones. To be honest,

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there's probably a whole episode I could do on our Margate

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experience and how, despite the fact that we both love a seaside

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town, we'd actually overlook the fact that everything was going

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to be closed because it was peak winter. But that's on us. And

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that is important Today's episode is all about. But the

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topic of networks was sparked by my trip to Margate, because it

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once again showed me just how important it is to have people

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in your orbit who get you who will cheerlead for you

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he'll go along with your stupid ideas like trying to find an

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arcade that's open in peak winter at 830 at night, but also

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who aren't afraid to tell you the truth, they're not going to

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pander to you, they're going to challenge your thinking in your

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assumptions. And I absolutely have that in my relationship

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with Carrie. And she is one of the most trusted people in my

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network. But it hasn't always been like that our relationship

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and now our collaboration through the how to take the lead

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podcast and other bits of work we do fruit through that arm has

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been an evolution. And those couple of days away and how we

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interacted and supported and challenged each other really got

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me thinking about the importance of networks. Now I had this

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conversation with every leader who I hold strategy days with,

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and many others when I'm just having a chat with them, because

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it's a subtle, but actually quite major influence on the

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whole personal leadership strategy, self leadership,

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communications dynamic, you know, the whole SDLC model that

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I talk about, that contributes to the impact that you're making

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as a leader. Now, just as a side note, I want to make clear from

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the start that your network is really different from

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networking, I'm not going to be talking about awkward events

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where you have to have an elevator pitch and a business

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card and you fumble your way through all that small talk.

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They have a place, perhaps maybe. But for now, let's put

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that image and talk about why your network is important when

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we're talking about impact and the benefits of having the right

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network. Say firstly, and most importantly, it enhances your

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performance and productivity. So the voices you hear in your

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network are going to be a mix of cheerleader and challenger.

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That's always going to keep you sharp. It's going to keep you

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motivated and focused on the things that matter as a leader,

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you're going to learn from these people. And from that you're

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going to get new opportunities, whether it's new business, new

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jobs, new thinking, but there will be growth from those people

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around you that will only improve your performance is

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going to help you from a self leadership perspective, because

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there'll be those who provide a safe space when you need it, who

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will make you accountable for your own well being. And he'll

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be role models for the type of leader that you want to be. And

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it's going to improve your communications. So your network

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This will prove to you that it's possible for you to connect with

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others, that you can be vulnerable that you can show up

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as yourself authentically that people are going to call you out

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on your BS. Absolutely, there is a business imperative to be

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thinking and focusing on your networks. Now, the flipside of

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all of those benefits also true. If you don't have the right

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people in your networks, if you don't have the variety of

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opinions and voices, if you don't have people who are

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willing to tell you the truth, or unafraid to speak up, you are

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not going to make the impact you want as a leader. So as you've

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probably gleaned from what I've said, so far, your network, in

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essence is who you surround yourself with. Now, you're going

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to know a lot of people. And this isn't about how many people

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you know, that absolutely comes into play when we talk about

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stakeholders, and we start to map them with your priorities as

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part of your strategy. Your networks are about the people

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who are most important to you. And however you define what's

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important, and it's understanding what role they

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play for you and you for them, because it's a two way street.

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And you have to be putting into these networks and relationships

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in order to get that value out. This is going to be a much

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smaller group of people. And even then it's not one

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homogenous group, which is why I keep saying networks, you're

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going to have different groups with different purposes. It's

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important that you know where people sit in relation to each

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other in relation to you so that you can have clarity in the

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nature of your relationship and the dealings that you have with

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them. I like to think of three main types of networks that you

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will typically have. First and foremost, it's your personal

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support network, this is your most sacred and normally the

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smallest network around you. These are the people who are

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your safe space, who see the best and worst of you who know

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you so well that they will call you out on the BS, they will put

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you back in your place, but they don't hold you back. And that is

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such an important distinction. When I worked in my corporate

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role, these were my closest friends and allies who I could

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turn to when things got bad. And they just knew whether I needed

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some humor, a shoulder to cry on a listening ear or actually a

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critical eye. And I wouldn't always like what they had to

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say, but I respected them for saying it. Then you've got your

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people of influence network. So these I see as the strategically

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important relationships, people who will align with your values

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and beliefs, who you recognize that you both respectively play

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an important role in each other's successes. And you know

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where that line is, so it doesn't cross into that personal

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support territory. These are probably people who you will map

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in your stakeholder map as well. And in that high interest, high

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influence kind of box, the people you're going to interact

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with a lot because there is organizational and personal

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benefit for those relationships. And then the third group is your

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value add networks. These are people who play a really

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important part in your life or your business in one way or

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another. But perhaps they don't see or get too involved in other

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elements of your life or business. So this is where your

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business powers might sit, or your colleagues at work. Or if

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you have a coach or a mentor, or you're in a course and you've

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set up a peer group or something similar. I have accountability

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groups that I'm part of as a business owner now, and they

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absolutely are my value add network. The bottom line of that

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network is that you know the role you're all playing for each

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other. And there isn't really an expectation beyond that. Now, I

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think it's really important to be intentional in your networks.

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And curate, as I said earlier, who you have around you. As a

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leader, it can be both an incredibly lonely Oh, but also

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actually one of the noisiest things you'll do because

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everyone wants a bit of you. Everyone wants to be heard.

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You'll be surrounded by people who have stuff to say. And as a

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leader, you sometimes think you have to listen to everything and

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everyone, but actually part of leadership is learning to filter

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and that includes filtering who is in your networks. I get like

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this might feel a bit uncomfortable. But this isn't a

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mucky, manipulative thing to be intentional in your networks.

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This is about self preservation and yeah, self leadership. I

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think the hardest lessons I've learned in my leadership career

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is about knowing when to edit and change up who's in my

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network. So I've had to distance myself and say farewell, or

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actually, perhaps not so politely, in some cases, to

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people in my personal support network, because they were

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holding me back, they were trying to keep me in a place.

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And in a time that I knew I'd outgrown. I knew deep down that

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those relationships weren't serving me. But I wanted to

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avoid conflict. And it took a lot of reflection and personal

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growth and help from others in my network, including my coach

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to make those changes. Even now, in my own business, not many of

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the voices I allowed to influence me in my early days

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are still around now. I saw them at the time as part of my

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influence or value added networks, but either they became

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part of the noise, which really confused me and affected my

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productivity and performance, or their support was time limited.

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And we both knew when it was time to move on. There have also

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been people who've moved from one part of my network to

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another, and that's cool, too. So I started at the beginning

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talking about my trip to Margate with Karianne. Now, we first met

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over a decade ago, and we were colleagues working in different

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organizations absolutely in that value add network. But over

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time, we have absolutely trampled into each other's

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personal support networks. And she's one of the closest people

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that I can turn to personally and professionally. As leaders,

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we need to normalize that it's okay to be intentional with our

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networks, and nurture them for mutual gain. This isn't about

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people pleasing, or popularity contests or manipulation. It's

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not about creating echo chambers, or an army of yes,

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people. In fact, if that sounds like your network, you

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absolutely need start editing it and being intentional. So many

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of the clients I work with have these breakthrough moments when

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they realize who in their network is draining their time

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and their energy, who is trying to hold them back as the person

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they used to be not the leader they're becoming. And to begin

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to start to accept that change in those relationships and

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dynamics is free. And it brings space and opportunity. It

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invites diversity of thinking and approach. It's where your

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most impactful self will be found. If you're like the

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leaders I've worked with, you might not have given much

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thought to your network beyond the everyday interactions you're

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having with them. But I use this episode as an invitation for you

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to start your own reflection. This doesn't need to be a long,

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laborious exercise. You don't need to get pen and paper and

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perfectly map out the networks and have them all put in their

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relevant buckets. This is more about taking this as a chance to

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bring awareness to who you have around you and the role they

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play as you strive to be a more impactful leader. Think about

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the people that you've interacted with today or

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yesterday or over the past week. How did they make you feel?

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Did they drain or energize you? Are they helping you to grow as

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a leader? are they holding you back? Are they trusted in your

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personal support network? Or are they adding value in a

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particular area of your work or life? Think about what you're

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giving to these relationships to? Are you serving people well?

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Or is it time for you to redefine the roles you play in

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each other's lives? The answers might not be immediately

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apparent, the reflections probably will throw up some

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uncomfortable truths, or maybe provide that breakthrough on why

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you're not performing as you'd like. You might need to sit with

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those feelings for a while before you decide on the action

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you need to take. You might decide you need to keep a bit of

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a watching brief on certain relationships to understand

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whether it's a natural ebb and flow of the support you give

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each other because you know everyone's got their own stuff

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going on. And not everyone's going to be showing up 100% For

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you all the time, and neither will you for them. And that is

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cool. But if it's a pattern that keeps repeating and you're not

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seeing the value, and you know deep down is not going to

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improve, then that might be something you need to think

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about taking some action on. And you might want to chat through

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what all this all froze up with someone who it does feel right

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to talk to you within one of your networks. If you've

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listened to this episode, recognize that your networks

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could do with some TLC in 2024 then coaching could do for you

Lee Griffith: 00:14:54

what it did for me all those years ago, coaching offers you a

Lee Griffith: 00:14:58

safe space to tackle those challengers with some fresh

Lee Griffith: 00:15:01

thinking. Visits undisguised.com To find out more and Book your

Lee Griffith: 00:15:05

free consultation call. If you enjoyed this episode, please let

Lee Griffith: 00:15:10

me know on Apple podcasts or on app of choice and drop me a line

Lee Griffith: 00:15:14

over on LinkedIn. You can find me at Lee Griffith. I'll be back

Lee Griffith: 00:15:18

with the next episode in two weeks time for in the meantime,

Lee Griffith: 00:15:20

remember to sign up to my newsletter at Sundayskies.com

Lee Griffith: 00:15:23

for further insights on how to lead with impact until next

Lee Griffith: 00:15:26

time!